Page 15 - THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU

The Island of Doctor Moreau

III. THE STRANGE FACE.

WE left the cabin and found a man at the companion
obstructing our way. He was standing on the ladder with
his back to us, peering over the combing of the hatchway.
He was, I could see, a misshapen man, short, broad, and
clumsy, with a crooked back, a hairy neck, and a head
sunk between his shoulders. He was dressed in dark-blue
serge, and had peculiarly thick, coarse, black hair. I heard
the unseen dogs growl furiously, and forthwith he ducked
back,— coming into contact with the hand I put out to
fend him off from myself. He turned with animal
swiftness.
In some indefinable way the black face thus flashed
upon me shocked me profoundly. It was a singularly
deformed one. The facial part projected, forming
something dimly suggestive of a muzzle, and the huge
half-open mouth showed as big white teeth as I had ever
seen in a human mouth. His eyes were blood-shot at the
edges, with scarcely a rim of white round the hazel pupils.
There was a curious glow of excitement in his face.
‘Confound you!’ said Montgomery. ‘Why the devil
don’t you get out of the way?’

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